Superheroes and toys go hand in hand. Both breathe imagination and creativity, allowing one to step out of reality and become unimaginable. In combining the two, fans of a superhero, or villain, can dive into an alternate world and create their own stories through the toys they play with. Most modern-day creatives in the superhero genre grew up playing with Lego sets, action figures, and various other playsets — creating their own stories which they now get to tell through comics, books, animation, and live-action movies.
The superhero toy industry is also a very profitable business. Mel Brooks jokes in the movie Spaceballs about the marketing of products towards kids and adults to support the film. But in truth, his jesting is closer to reality than most care to admit. Lucasfilm became what it is, much in part to the brilliant toy and product marketing associated with the Star Wars movies. The same applies to superheroes today. In 2017, Marvel raked in around $350 million domestically in toy-based sales, according to the NPD Group. Disney, who owns Marvel, ranked at the top of licensed products in 2017 with $53 billion earned according to the same report.
With superhero toys being so profitable, leaks and spoilers associated with the movies have become more of a common occurrence. Each company wants to get a step ahead of its competition and spoiling a movie through a toy line is a sure guarantee to get free marketing and press towards that item. Here are the top 25 superhero toys which totally spoiled the movies or series’ prior to their release.
25 Iron Spidey Suit In Avengers: Infinity War
After turning down Tony Stark’s invitation and updated Spider-Man suit in Spider-Man: Homecoming, there was plenty of speculation on the inter-web regarding if Peter Parker would have a change of mind during Avengers: Infinity War. And if he did, what features would his new Spidey suit have?
The film’s trailers showed Peter in a new updated suit, but true fans realized a huge spoiler from a Lego playset. Featuring the armor Spider-Man first wore in The Amazing Spider-Man #529, the Lego toy set spoiled the hidden reveal of Parker’s mechanical arms on the back of his new suit.
24 First Look At Aquaman Suit
The best way to promote an upcoming movie is to get fans talking out about, and what better way could there be other than to spoil a costume by showcasing it on an action figure.
Thanks to Rob Keyes of Screen Rant, this little ditty first appeared as a toy promotion heading into SDCC 2018. The figure is dubbed as a movie classic, and it doesn’t fail to catch the eye. Jason Momoa playing Aquaman, however, certainly helps. The suit does look pretty cool, though.
23 Wonder Woman Fighting Ares
Good DC movies are hard to come by these days, which is why the production of Wonder Woman was shrouded in secrecy, as they knew they finally had a hit. There were rumors surrounding Wonder Woman fighting Ares, but no official casting of the role had been announced.
The idea was to make it seem like Wonder Woman might be slightly off her rocker when talking about Ares being behind WWII. Lego, however, completely ruined any suspense and doubt the film created, with the release of Ares fighting Wonder Woman in a Lego set.
22 The Return Of Thor’s Eye
Thanks to CGI and no toy spoilers, Thor losing his eye in Thor: Ragnarok came as a complete surprise. Sadly, Hasbro prevented Marvel from repeating the same level of secrecy regarding Thor getting his eye back in Avengers: Infinity War.
Featured in Hasbro’s Marvel Legends figures for the Infinity War line is a Thor action figure with two eyes.
Released well before the film, the toy ruined any speculation as to how Thor would cope with the loss of his eye.
21 Avengers Reveal Of Vision
Even the best marketing plans can go up in flames, much in part to careless releases by toy companies. Vision appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron wasn’t a big secret, but what he looked like and how he came to be was. Until his action figure was released.
Not only did the toy reveal what Vision would look like, but it also came mini bio, revealing his existence per the Infinity Stone in Loki’s scepter. To make matters worse, the reveal came months before the release of the actual movie.
20 Third Act Fight Scene Spoiled
Thor: Ragnarok quickly shot to the top of the “best of MCU movies,” despite having its third act fight scene spoiled by Legos. In a set titled The Ultimate Battle for Asgard, the giant Norse wolf Fenrir was revealed to be fighting on Hela’s side. Bruce Banner also was presented, revealing he would revert out of his Hulk state at some point in the film.
The set did keep Thor losing his eye a secret due to an overly large helmet. Too bad the same discretion was used with the rest of the set, or future Thor toys upon the release of Avengers: Infinity War.
19 Funko Spoils Superman Return In Justice League
The trailers for Justice League tried to keep fans guessing if Superman would return, but a Funko Pop release blew that story right out the window. The toy was a part of the Justice League lineup, even featuring what his new suit would look like.
The only part Funko Pop didn’t spoil was the CGI mustache removal.
In addition to the toy spoiler, movie theater merchandise also ruined Superman’s big reveal, as his picture and action figure were pasted on cups, movie theater popcorn bins, and drink lids.
18 Hidden Villain Identity Revealed In Action Figure
Animated movies often get brushed aside, but DC fans were looking forward to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm for the big reveal as to who was behind the Phantasm mask.
Sadly, this major reveal of the movie was spoiled long before its release thanks to a simple action figure. The big set-up was to get audiences to think Phantasm was Carl Beaumont when it turned out it was his daughter Andrea all along. No wonder DC movies can’t catch a break, the spoilers take away their biggest twists every time.
17 Flaming Surtur Spoils Ending Of Thor: Ragnarok
With so much time and effort being put into keeping Thor’s eye loss a secret, a Funko Pop of Surtur somehow slipped through the cracks. After Marvel revealed Hela would be the main villain of the movie, a Funko Pop was released showing Surtur covered in flames.
The film tries to set up this plot point in the opening scene, but thanks to another toy spoiler, fans already knew what was coming long before it played out on the big screen.
16 Banner Is Tied To Hulkbuster Armor In Infinity War
Visuals of the Hulkbuster Armor were shown in Avengers: Infinity War trailers, yet fans were left to wonder who was operating it. Thanks to a spoiler toy set, the drama of Bruce Banner not being able to revert to the Hulk was revealed.
The set, however, was of Banner as the Hulk in the armor.
But true Marvel fans know the only reason Bruce would be in the Hulkbuster suit was if he wasn’t able to turn into the Hulk in the first place. Lego also released a similar set, not even trying to hide it was Banner all along.
15 Lego Spoils Trip To Nidavellir In Infinity War
A Marvel action figure set spoiled the team up of Groot, Thor, and Rocket. But where they were heading off to was further spoiled by a Lego playset. The set revealed their location to be Nidavellir, where Thor would acquire his new hammer.
To make matters worse, Groot is even shown growing a long branch out of his arm to for the handle for Stormbreaker. Lego even revealed how Rockets ship would play a part in the forming of the hammer.
14 Giant-Man Spoiler
Peyton Reed never wanted Giant-Man to be in Civil War, as he wanted to save the big reveal for Ant-Man and the Wasp. His feelings on the matter were overruled, and to add insult to injury, so was the Giant-Man reveal.
Thanks to a Funko Pop release and a Lego set, MCU fans knew Ant-Man could not only shrink into the Quantum Realm but grow up to 60 feet tall too. The worst part is that his secret name was also revealed, a name which belonged to another character in the comics.
13 Lego Spoils Their Own Movie
Lego isn’t biased, as they’ll even spoil their own movies if it means making a buck. The Lego Batman Movie was pretty much one giant marketing tool, to begin with, in which Lego planned to release a new Batman vehicle called the Scuttler.
The toy set, however, hit shelves long before the movie was even released. The giant toy company even used reverse logic to sell their products, claiming a joker set was a spoiler edition from The Lego Batman Movie months after the film’s release.
12 A Shackled And Bald Lex Luthor
DC fans were not thrilled about seeing Lex with hair in the trailers for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The vocal outrage on the inter-web likely led to the spoiled toy release of his action figure.
Featured shaved and in chains, Lex Luthor looked much more like the character fans had grown accustomed to over the years. The action figure of Lex with a bald head certainly calmed fans down, until the movie was released. The prison chains also gave away the ending, not that it mattered much.
11 Ego Is Spoiled As Main Antagonist
Bringing on Kurt Russel to play Star-Lord’s missing father wasn’t too much of a shocker for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Marvel even revealed prior to the film’s release that Ego was also a living planet.
Featured in the description of a Marvel action figure set, however, was the big reveal surrounding Ego being the movies main antagonist. This spoiled any tension half the movie tried to create and had the potential to ruin the entire film. Thankfully, the humor helped audiences past this giant toy spoiler.
10 War Machine Revealed As Avenger
Known for playing a substantial role in the Iron Man films, the spoiler of War Machine being an Avenger came as a surprise treat for MCU fans. In an Avengers: Age of Ultron toy action set, War Machine is featured with the rest of the Avengers — blowing Marvels big reveal.
In addition to ruining the surprise about War Machine, the same set spoiled Falcon too.
Logic would dictate that Marvel might be trying to prevent toy spoilers like this from happening in the future, but where there is money to be had, logic doesn’t seem to count.
9 Justice League Villain Spoiler
Thanks to Lego once again, Steppenwolf was leaked as the main villain. On the sets cover, Steppenwolf and his shown fighting the Justice League around a giant Batmobile airlift.
Sadly, the vehicle was also a spoiler. But why stop at just one, when it’s possible to reveal three spoilers at one time? That’s right, Superman was also a Lego character in the set, spoiling his return. The set showcases the final battle scene, ripping any suspense DC might have had going into the release of the film.
8 Kaecilius As Villain In Dr. Strange
Thanks to a Marvel action figure toy set, the secrecy behind Dr. Strange’s villain was revealed to be Kaecilius. Grant it, Dormammu was the ultimate baddy, but fans were still surprised by the toy spoiler.
Kaecilius is a simple minor character in the comics, making this reveal a big deal. Despite being an unknown character to casual fans, the movie didn’t suffer, even after having its villain spoiled by a toy action figure.
7 The Deadpool Everyone Wants To Forget
The introduction of Deadpool on the big screen came in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, not that it was a good adaptation. To make matters worse, his cameo was spoiled by a toy. If you thought the adaptation was poor on screen, the action figure only makes it worse.
The toy action figure featured Deadpool with his mouth sewed shut, along with the weird looking veins popping out of his skin. Good thing Wade Wilson decided to dive back in time during Deadpool 2 to clear up this mess.
6 Man Of Steel Details On Back Of Action Figure Packs
There’s been more than a few occasions when bios about a character have ruined plot points in superhero movies. In Man of Steel, the toy companies went one step further by revealing everything about the superheroes and villains.
The action figure packs even revealed secrets about suits which were purposely left out of other marketing platforms. So, the next time you pick up an action figure, take a moment to read the information on the back of the pack. If, you want to be spoiled by a toy.
